Jim Beam’s New Little Book Bourbon Is an Infinite Blend of Whiskey
Since its launch in 2017, Little Book has been one of the most interesting whiskeys to come out of the James B. Beam Distilling Co., the distillery where leading bourbon brand Jim Beam is produced. The man behind Little Book is eighth generation master distiller Freddie Noe, son of current master distiller Fred Noe and grandson of legendary former master distiller Booker Noe. So it comes as no surprise that this new Little Book release is something unique. The Infinite: Edition 1 is a blend of aged bourbons that will have a new component added to it every year, essentially making it an infinity blend.
The concept of an infinity blend is similar to the solera method used to make certain whiskeys and sherries. In that process, a barrel is never completely emptied before adding new spirit, so there is always at least a little bit of older liquid in the makeup. This is not exactly the same as that, but it’s close. In this case, the base blend will remain the same, but each release will have a new whiskey component added. “My father and I are lucky enough to work together, side by side, as master distillers, and I know he always dreamed of that with his own father, my grandaddy Booker,” said Noe in a statement. “This new series pays tribute to that dream and inspired the first edition of Little Book The Infinite, a multigenerational liquid that will form the foundation of all future releases. Once a year, I’ll bottle some up for the world to try.”
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For the inaugural release of Little Book the Infinite, four different whiskeys were blended together, each inspired by a different family member: 20-year-old Kentucky straight bourbon (Booker Noe’s component), 14-year-old Kentucky straight bourbon (Fred Noe’s component), seven-year-old Kentucky straight bourbon (Freddie’s component), and eight-year-old Kentucky straight bourbon (shared family component). The focus is still on the art of blending, as is the case with the Little Book series overall, but as mentioned before Noe will select a new whiskey to add for every future release. We have not been able to sample the Infinite yet, but official tasting notes describe different flavor components based on each whiskey: Booker’s brings notes of oak, char, and smoke; Fred’s provides dark fruit, cherry, and brown sweets; and Freddie’s offers caramel, vanilla, and spice. The whiskey was bottled at 59.65 percent ABV.
Little Book the Infinite: Edition 1 will be available to purchase nationwide, but it’s a pricy bottle at $200 a pop and is being released in limited numbers. You can also find past releases, like this year’s Path Not Taken blend of rye whiskeys, available to purchase from websites like Total Wine now.
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